John
Sweetman, was the eldest son of John Sweetman, a Dublin
brewer and Honoria, daughter of Malachy O'Connor, a Dublin
merchant. He was born in 1844 in CountyDublin and was educated
at DownsideCollege in Somerset. He lived at Drumbaragh,
Kells, CountyMeath and 47 Merrion Square, Dublin. He married
Agnes Hanly in 1895 and they had six children. He had passionate
interests in politics, agriculture and economics and in the 1870s
he joined the Irish Land League. It was not long before he
became a member of the executive committee and in 1879 he
proposed the election of Charles Stewart Parnell as its
president. He was also involved in farming and tenants
organisations at the time.

In
1880, Sweetman visited Minnesota, USA. As a result of that
trip he became involved in a scheme to settle poor Irish farmers
in Minnesota. He purchased about 20,000 acres near Currie, MurrayCounty in Minnesota, and this became the first tranche of land to
be controlled by The Irish-American Colonization Company, for
which he had raised some funds from other businessmen and land
owners back in Irelandthough most of the money put up was his
own. The colonisation project was not a complete success, but it
did help a large number of people, including over 80 families,
from Co. Meath obtain a better life in America.

The
family brewery in Dublin was sold to Arthur Guinness &
Sons in 1891 and Sweetman decided to enter full time into
politics. He was elected as an anti-Parnellite Irish
Parliamentary Party MP for East Wicklow in 1892. At first he was
a convinced Home Ruler and opposed to armed rebellion. However by
the early twentieth century he had become more radical. In a
speech in 1903, he did not rule out armed rebellion,
which prompted a correspondence with Pádraig Pearse.

He
was one of the founders and financial backers of Sinn Féin
in 1905, succeeding Edward Martyn to be the second
President of the party in 1908. Arthur Griffith took over
as the third President later in the year. He was arrested at his
home in Meath during the 1916 Rising in which he did not
apparently play any active part, and was taken to prison in England.
After a vigorous campaign by his wife and friends who enlisted
the support of politicians as diverse as Sir Edward Carson
he was released after 3 months. He took an active part in Sinn
Féin during the 1917 and 1918 elections but took a back seat
in politics afterwards, in the 1920s and 1930s, he kept speaking
at meetings and was an inveterate letter writer, particularly to
politicians including WT Cosgrave, JJ Walsh, Éamon de Valera
and others, all of whom held him in much respect. Newspapers and
magazines were the recipients of most of his opinions and some
published letters from him every day.

He became
vice-chairman (1899-1901) and subsequently chairman of Meath
County Council (1902-08), Sweetman was a leading figure in
the establishment of the General Council of County Councils.
He served as its vice-president during the early 1900s and argued
frequently that this federation of senior county council
officials should be allowed to take over many of the
administrative functions of DublinCastle. Sweetmans fear
of being potentially responsible for instigating divisions of any
kind within the Irish Catholic community also played a
significant role in shaping his style of leadership of Sinn
Féin.

During the 1910s
Sweetmans well-established reputation for conservatism grew
not only due to his continued opposition to granting women access
to higher education but also because of his strident criticisms
of labour radicalism. Inspired by the Popes anti-war
declarations, during 1915 he was one of the first Irishmen to
speak out against the possibility of conscription being
introduced into the country. This may have influenced DublinCastles
decision to arrest him in the wake of the 1916 rising.

During 1917-18
Sweetman supported Herbert Pim and Darrel Figgis in
pushing for a revival of Sinn Féin. He was chosen as the Sinn
Fein candidate for North Wexford in the run up the 1918 general
election but declined due to his advanced age (he was
seventy-four), the seat going instead to his cousin Roger.

By the mid-1920s,
however, he was expressing strong opposition to the governments
free-trade policies, accusing the government of indifference to
the poor and latent British imperialism. He resigned his honorary
membership of the central branch of Cumann na nGaedhael in
January 1928 and thereafter considered funding the establishment
of an alternative, centrist and protectionist party in Irish
politics. By 1930, however, his growing admiration for what he
saw as Eamon DeValeras Christian statesmanship
prompted him to overcome his aversion to Fianna Fáil and
to support that party, which he joined in 1932.

John Sweetman
died on 8 September 1936 at the age of ninety-two. He was
survived by his wife Agnes (who died in November 1936), his four
sons and two daughters.

He is buried in the
family plot in St Colmcille`s Cemetery, Kells, on a portion of
land he gifted to the Parish of Kells for the new cemetery,
opened 1910, to which, like everybody else, he had to buy his
plot from the Parish.

VIII.
Irish-American Colonisation Company

The Irish-American Colonisation Company [IACC]
was established in 1881, its aim was to assist Irish Catholics to
emigrate to Minnesota and help to establish Catholic Colonies
there. The company purchased land in Minnesota for the new
settlers and assisted in meeting the costs of travelling. John
Sweetman was a central motivational force behind the
establishment of the company, and acted as company Director. The
company was voluntary disbanded by its directors in 1909,
although not a complete success it had assisted many Catholic
Irish to emigrate in search of a better life in America. The
company papers have been split into seven sections by document
type; organisational papers, publicity material, requests for
information, successful applications, company correspondence,
financial material and maps. Within each section the records have
been arranged chronologically.

John Sweetmans correspondence with
members of the community in Minnesota can be found in section X.i.
Minnesota Correspondence. Newspaper cuttings relating to the
Irish-American Colonisation Company can be found in section XI.

VIII.i.
Organisational Papers MS 47,593 /1

1880-1881

Legal documentation regarding the
establishment of the IACC Includes a certificate of
registration of the IACC as a limited company with the
Registrar of Joint Stock Companies (13 Mar. 1881). Also,
warranty deeds from the Winona & St. Peter
Railway Co. and St. Paul & Sioux City
Railroad Co. to Sweetman regarding the purchase of
land. Also, copies of power of attorney granted to Bishop
John Ireland and John Sweetman to act for the company
(Apr. 1881). Also, legal opinion offered by R.P. Carton
Q.C. about the possibility of applying for government aid
(Nov. 1881); 11 items

MS
42,082

1881-1909

Minute book of the meetings of the
Board of Directors from the establishment of the Company
in March 1881 to the final meeting of November 1909. Also
includes loose sheets of related notes and drafts;
c.300pp

MS
42,083

1881-1893

Rough Minute Book of the meetings
of the Board of Directors from March 1881 to January
1893; c.300pp

MS
47,593 /2

[undated,
1881]

A leather-bound, pocket-size
diary of John Sweetman. Entries relate to IACC
appointments or business, also some general notes;
c.100pp.

MS
47,593 /3

1885

A
copy of a resolution of the directors of the IACC
(annotated proposed by Lattin Thunder, seconded by
Colonel Dease and carried) appointing Sweetman an
agent for the IACC, entitled to grant and sell any and
all lands owned by the company in the United States.
Also, a copy of a power of attorney (20 Aug. 1885) and a
copy of a second IACC resolution to this effect; 3 items

MS
47,593 /4

1887-1907

A list of the retiring directors
of the IACC for each year from 1887 to 1907; 1p.

MS
47,593 /5

1892

A draft for a land agreement with
settlers, and two blank land agreement forms. Also, a
copy of an IACC land agreement with Timothy Brodle and
Elias Howard respectively (1892); 6 items

MS
47,593 /6

1900-1908

General papers relating to the
IACC. Includes a sheet listing names of individuals whom
were issued with deeds (1901). Reports of directors
meetings from 1904-08 (including some reports of meetings
involving [Agnes Sweetman]). Also, a copy of a letter to
and from Ambrose A. Kelly (Dublin) regarding his becoming
a director of the IACC (Mar. 1900), a letter to and from
Maxwell and Weldon (solicitors) regarding the death of
Lattin Thunder (Mar. 1900), and a letter from Walter
Sweetman of Currie, Minn. about IACC business (May 1901);
21 items

MS
47,593 /7

1928,
1984 and undated

Historical
articles on the IACC and the Sweetman Catholic Colony.
Includes an original and photocopied copy of Alice E.
Smith, The Sweetman Irish Colony, Minnesota
History (vol.9, no.4, Dec. 1928), pp331-46, as well
as a print-out of an extract of this same article (as
featured on rootsweb.com). Two copies of
The Connemara and Sweetman Colonies in
Patricia Condon Johnston, Minnesotas Irish (1984).
A 3pp article giving a history of the Immaculate of
Mary Parish, featuring a photo of John Sweetman.
Also, a photograph of an unknown lake [at Currie] by
Charles Tenney of Winona, Minn, and a photograph taken in
snowy weather of three unknown individuals in Minnesota,
including one priest; 8 items

VIII.ii.
Publicity Material MS 47,594 /1

1880-1881

Booklets relating to Minnesota or
Catholic colonisation:

Minnesota: her agricultural resources, commercial
advantages and manufacturing capabilities (published
by the State Board of Immigration, St. Paul, Minnesota,
1880)

Literature relating to the IACC,
includes a general pamphlet entitled Irish
colonisation in America(Gill and Son, Dublin, 1880)
and two copies of a pamphlet (one annotated) by Sweetman
describing the aims of the IACC. A provisional and final
prospectus for the company, as well as a memorandum of
association. A copy of the Irish and American editions of
the pamphlet Farms for Sale in Minnesota by the
Irish-American Colonisation Company (Ltd.) (1881).
Also included, a leaflet reprinting Sweetmans
letter to The Tablet (18 Oct. 1881) describing the
difficulties that emigrants are likely to face; 9 items

MS
47,594 /3

1880-1883

Letters from various newspapers or
journals in Britain and Ireland (local, national and
specialist), listing the cost for placing an
advertisement for the IACC. Also included are five copies
of a draft (in Sweetmans hand) of a cover-letter
(Apr. 1881), and some letters from M.H. Gill and Son
regarding the cost of publishing pamphlets; 80 items

MS
47,594 /4

1881-1883

Receipts from various newspapers
or journals in Britain and Ireland (local, national and
specialist) for the cost of placing an advertisement for
the IACC in their columns. Also, some receipts from M.H.
Gill and Son regarding the cost of publishing pamphlets;
118 items

MS
47,594 /5

1881-1889

Prospectuses for some agricultural
and colonisation companies based in

London,
namely The Anglo-American Agricultural Company,
The Manitoba Land Company Ltd. and the National
Association for Promoting State Colonisation.
Includes shareholders reports, as well as a share
certificate dividend, from the Manitoba Land Company. A
pamphlet by the William Brabazon, 11th Earl of Meath
(president of the National Association for
Promoting State Colonisation) entitled State
Colonisation (London, 1888). Also, a miscellaneous
photograph of an unnamed individual; 19 items

MS
47,594 /6

1882

A copy of a pamphlet entitled Farms
for Sale in the Sweetman Catholic Colony of Murray County,
Minnesota, by the Irish-American Colonisation Co. (Ltd.) (St.
Paul, 1882). Also, two different advertising brochures
including one that folds out into a large colour-coded
map, showing lands yet to be sold; 3 items

MS
47,594 /7

1883-1885

A copy of Sweetmans pamphlet
(16pp) Recent experiences in the emigration of Irish
families (Dublin, 1883). A 4pp leaflet reprinting a
letter of Bishop John Ireland (St. Paul) to the American
press on the Sweetman Colony in Minnesota
[1883]. A pamphlet on the Sweetman Catholic Colony (Currie,
Minnesota, 1885), featuring reprints of letters written
to the American Catholic press by Fr. Martin Mahoney
(parish priest of Currie) and John Sweetman, as well as
an image of the recently established church in the
parish; 3 items

(marked
rejected) to become a tenant under the
scheme. Surname: F-H; 100 items

MS
47,595 /4

1881-1884

Fifty letters from the general
public requesting information about the colonisation
scheme. Also, fourteen unsuccessful applications (marked
rejected) to become a tenant under the
scheme. Surname: K-L; 64 items

MS
47,595 /5

1881-1884

Eighty-one letters from the
general public requesting information about the
colonisation scheme. Also, fourteen unsuccessful
applications (marked rejected) to become a
tenant under the scheme. Surname: M; 95 items

MS
47,595 /6

1881-1884

Thirty-seven letters from the
general public requesting information about the
colonisation scheme. Also, three unsuccessful
applications (marked rejected) to become a
tenant under the scheme. Surname: N-O; 40 items

MS
47,595 /7

1881-1884

Fifty-one letters from the general
public requesting information about the colonisation
scheme. Also, six unsuccessful applications (marked
rejected) to become a tenant under the scheme
and three miscellaneous application forms [unprocessed]. Surname:
P-R; 60 items

MS
47,595 /8

1881-1884

Forty-two letters from the general
public requesting information about the colonisation
scheme. Also, three unsuccessful applications (marked
rejected). Surname: S; 45 items

MS
47,595 /9

1881-1884

Forty letters from the general
public requesting information about the colonisation
scheme. Also, six unsuccessful applications (marked
rejected) to become a tenant under the
scheme. Surnames: T-Y; 46 items

VIII.iv.
Successful applications MS 47,596 /1

1880-1881

Applications for admission to the
emigration scheme marked accepted with, in
some cases, original letters of the applicants attached
to the forms. Surnames B-D; 17 items

MS
47,596 /2

1881

Applications for admission to the
emigration scheme marked accepted with, in
some cases, original letters of the applicants attached
to the forms. Surnames: F-H; 11 items

MS
47,596 /3

1881-1882

Applications for admission to the
emigration scheme marked accepted with, in
some cases, original letters of the applicants attached
to the forms. Surnames: K-L; 12 items

MS
47,596 /4

1881-1882

Applications for admission to the
emigration scheme marked accepted with, in
some cases, original letters of the applicants attached
to the forms. Surnames: M-O; 16 items

MS
47,596 /5

1881-1882

Applications for admission to the
emigration scheme marked accepted with, in
some cases, original letters of the applicants attached
to the forms. Surnames: P-W; 10 items

MS
47,596 /6

1881-1883

Letters from steamship companies
(principally Allan Line of Liverpool) about making
arrangements for the transportation of sixty families
across the Atlantic (1881). Includes a poster advertising
weekly sailings from Glasgow and Belfast to New York. Two
memorandum cards from Allan Line providing notification
of the safe arrival of passenger ships in America (28
Mar., 4 Apr.1881). Letters from steamship companies
(principally White Star Line) about making
arrangements for the transportation of fifteen families
across the Atlantic (Mar. 1882). Also included, a cabin
passenger list for a sailing between New York and
Liverpool (Jan.1883) and a miscellaneous cabin passenger
lists for a sailing to Quebec (28 Apr.1881) and an
earlier sailing from New York to Liverpool; 52 items

MS
47,596 /7

1881-1884

Letters making arrangements for
the transportation of individuals or families,
principally from railway companies within the United
Kingdom or United States. Includes a couple of lists of
settlers who sailed for Minnesota during 1882, and some
undated memos listing the

names
of [shipping and publicity] agents. Also included,
miscellaneous cabin passenger lists for sailings between New
York and Liverpool (Jul and Oct. 1884); 28 items

MS
47,596 /8

1889-1895

Cabin passenger lists for various
trans-Atlantic sailings [performed by Sweetman], as well
as two layout plans for Cunard Line
steamships (with ticket-prices attached); 10 items

MS
47,596 /9

Undated

Notebook containing names of those
sailing for America [with the IACC], with details of age,
occupation, present wage, how much the passage cost, who
paid for the passage and any additional supplies given,
with index at back of volume; c.200 pp

names
of [shipping and publicity] agents. Also included,
miscellaneous cabin passenger lists for sailings between New
York and Liverpool (Jul and Oct. 1884); 28 items

MS
47,596 /8

1889-1895

Cabin passenger lists for various
trans-Atlantic sailings [performed by Sweetman], as well
as two layout plans for Cunard Line
steamships (with ticket-prices attached); 10 items

MS
47,596 /9

Undated

Notebook containing names of those
sailing for America [with the IACC], with details of age,
occupation, present wage, how much the passage cost, who
paid for the passage and any additional supplies given,
with index at back of volume; c.200 pp

VIII.v.
Company Correspondence MS 47,597 /1

1880

A diary entitled A short
summer trip to Minnesota, 1880, written by Sweetman
(returned to him in 1905 by the Rectress of the Sisters
of Mercy in Stanhope St., Dublin: cover-letters
included). Letters of James Rochford (London), offering
opinions on the scheme; a letter of The OConor Don,
declining to support the scheme (23 Jul. 1880), and a
letter of William Shaw MP and Professor Baldwin (member
with Shaw of a New York Herald committee to
examine Irish affairs) announcing their inability to
travel to America; 10 items

MS
47,597 /2

1880-1881,
undated

Letters and telegrams from
Dillon OBrien (St. Paul) on finalising arrangements
[for transportation or the purchase of land]. Includes a
letter of C Dooley of the New York
Catholic Protectory, forwarded by OBrien
(attached to 9 Apr.). Also, some handwritten notes of
Sweetman and a miscellaneous note from Young &
Newel (solicitors) of St. Paul; 13 items

MS
47,597 /3

1880-1881

Two letters from Thomas Spring
Rice, 2nd Baron Monteagle, including one expressing an
interest in become a director in Sweetmans company.
Also, two letters from Horace Plunkett of DunsanyCastle
(Navan, Co. Meath) on the same theme. Also, several
letters from Plunkett regarding tenants he encouraged to
apply to Sweetmans emigration scheme; 11 items

MS
47,597 /4

1880-82

Letters from J.H. Tuke (English
Quaker, philanthropist and author of Irish distress
and its remedies, 1880) enquiring as to the progress
of the

IACC;
12 items

MS
47,598 /1

1880,
1883

Letters from Edmund Dease (a
director of the IACC) of Ballybrittas, Queens County
(Laois), and a brief note from G.R. Dease (of Celbridge,
Co. Kildare, a director of the IACC), sent from The
Castle, Dublin, regretting his inability to attend
a meeting; 5 items

MS
47,598 /2

1880-1884

Letters and telegrams from John
Ireland [coadjutor bishop of St. Paul, Minnesota, and a
director of the IACC] on the organisation of the scheme.
Included is a letter of introduction (23 May 1883) for
Fr. Martin Mahony (the new parish priest for Currie, Minnesota,
a native of Kerry and a former curate in Liverpool) and a
press-cutting of Bishop Irelands speech before an
annual convention of the Catholic Total Abstinence Union
of America (2 Aug. 1882). Also, a series of telegrams to
Bishop Ireland, informing him when families had sailed,
and a letter of Sweetman to My Lord Bishop,
written from Kells, Co. Meath, expressing his willingness
to fund the re-housing in Minnesota of Benedictines
expelled from France (9 Feb. 1881). And a miscellaneous
letter (28 Feb. 1882) from Fr. J.P. Bodfish C.S.P.
(secretary of the archdiocese of Boston) and a letter (18
Jun. 1883) of a Sr. Sweetman (Convent of Mercy, Greenbush,
New York); 26 items

MS
47,598 /3

1880-1884

Letters from John P. OConnor
(superintendent of the IACC in America) providing news of
the finances of the company and the development of the
colony. Also, a letter of Robert Taaffe (4 Apr. 1882),
written at OConnors request, a copy of a map
of Murray Co. showing the location of the I.A.C.C. lands
(1882), and a miscellaneous paper annotated to indicate
that OConnor had become general manager of the North
Western Chronicle (undated [mid-1880s]); 21 items

MS
47,598 /4

1880-1884

Letters from John D. OBrien
(attorney, St. Paul). Subjects include titles to, and the
transfer of, land, the creation of a corporate seal and
other legal matters. Also included, a letter from a
farmer and friend of OBrien who was offering to
sell land (17 Jan. 1881); 14 items

MS
47,598 /5

1880-1886

General correspondence relating to
the IACC, includes two letters (in French) from the
Archbishop of St. Boniface (Canada), a letter from Edmund
Sweetman and Hugh OCallaghan, a letter from
Viscount Monck (Bray, Co. Wicklow) and a letter of Neil
Currie (Currie, Minn.). Also, some letters of W.J. ONahan
(president of St. Patricks Society and City
Collector for Chicago), a letter from a Colonel Oldfield

(regarding
a journal article by J.H. Tuke) and letters from Robert
Taaffe; 22 items

MS
42,084

1881-1882

Letter book of the I.A.C.C. from
January 1881 to February 1882, containing copy letters
written on company business by John Sweetman and Charles
Blackney (IACC Secretary), with index of correspondents
at front; 500pp

MS
47,598 /6

1881

A letter from Adam Hamilton O.S.B.
(St. Benedicts, Leopardstown, Stillorgan, Co.
Dublin) to Mr. Kelly on the limited resources
of the Benedictine Order and the impossibility of it
becoming involved in the Minnesota colonisation scheme.
31 Mar. 1881; 2pp.

MS
47,598 /7

1881

Cover-notes for documents sent, or
letters offering advise, by Maxwell and Weldon
solicitors in Dublin (Mar.-Jul.). Also, drafts or notes
in Sweetman hands for various company contracts,
including one marked rough sketch of letter to Dr. Ireland
about requirements with settlers. Also, a
miscellaneous receipt for payment of rent for the IACC
office in South Frederick Street, Dublin; 11 items

MS
47,598 /8

1881

Letters from R.H. Froude (a
company director) of Kensington, London. Subjects include
his acceptance of an I.A.C.C. directorship, the companys
prospectus and the possibility of finding shareholders in
England. Also, one letter from James Rochford to Sweetman
about a private business interview with Froude (1 Mar.),
two brief letters from W.H.F. Cogan (a company director
and barrister) of Tinode, Co. Wicklow (Apr.) and a letter
from an army officer, declining an invitation to join the
board of directors [of the IACC]; 29 items

MS
47,598 /9

1881

Letters from John Sweetman to
Charles Blackney (IACC secretary), mostly written from
Currie, Minnesota. Subjects include investments, the
transfer of funds and the manual labour involved in
setting up the colony. Also, one miscellaneous letter
from Joseph Taylor of Kidderminster, Worcestershire, England;
22 items

MS
47,598 /10

1881-1882

Letters from Lattin Thunder (a
company director) of Navan, Co. Meath, to Charles
Blackney (IACC secretary) with a couple of brief notes
from R.H. Froude. Subjects include the making of company
reports and convening meetings of directors; 10 items

Copies of two
lengthy Sweetman letters, as well as one short letter to
the [North Western] Chronicle, arguing in favour of free
trade and criticising American protectionists [1881].
Also, notes for a Sweetman speech on credit option facing
American farmers, a brief note on the cooperative
movement in England and a draft of a letter responding to
some criticism of his Catholic colony; 6 items

MS
47,599 /3

1881-1883

Letters from Fr. James Nugent
of the Catholic Colonisation Societys office in
Liverpool, principally regarding transportation
arrangements for men going to America; 8 items

MS
47,599 /4

1881-1883

Letters from individuals
regarding their inability to assist the scheme, including
one sent on behalf of Kells Union Workhouse. Also, a
letter from Ernest Hart (medical journalist and Liberal
Party figure), a letter from a man offering to assist the
IACC in Preston, Lancashire, and a letter sent to Thunder
(acting secretary IACC, Dublin) from J.J. Jones (director
of The International Labour and Emigration Agency)
of London; 9 items

MS
47,599 /5

1881-1884

Communications from Craig,
Gardner and Co. (Dame St., Dublin) in its capacity as
auditor and accountant for the IACC; 6 items

MS
47,599 /6

1881-84

Letters from various IACC
shareholders. Includes some letters about the companys
lack of profits (Mar. 1884); 30 items

MS
47,599 /7

1882

Letters from Sweetman to
Charles Blackney (IACC Secretary), mostly written from
Currie, Minnesota. Subjects include publicity, the
progress of the colony and problematic tenants (18 Jun.);
13 items

MS
42,085

1882-1888

Letter book of the IACC from
February 1882 to January 1887, containing copy letters
written on company business by John Sweetman and Charles
Blackney (IACC Secretary), with index of

correspondents
at front. Also contains two copy letters by Charles
Blackney giving notice of annual meetings (April 1887 and
August 1888); 502pp

MS
47,599 /8

1884

Letters from Fr. Martin Mahony
(P.P., Currie, Minnesota). Subjects include the progress
of the I.A.C.C. colony and reflections on religion; 10
items

[For personal letters between Fr.
Martin Mahony and John Sweetman see section X.i.2]

MS
47,599 /9

1883-1884

Letters from John Sweetman to
My dear John [Andrew Sweetman] (one letter
marked cousin), sent from Currie, providing
news of the colony and some advise regarding managing
accounts [in Dublin] and placing advertisements; 10 items

MS
47,599 /10

1883-1885

Letters from R.H. Froude, W.H.F.
Cogan and Arthur Kavanagh (company director) to Sweetman,
as well as an undated draft of a note by Sweetman
intended for the company directors. Subjects include the
payment of shares and difficulties facing the company
(Mar. 1884);11 items

MS
47,599 /11

1884-1887

Letters from Sweetman to Charles
Blackney (IACC secretary), subjects of Sweetmans
letters include the placing of advertisements, company
accounts and his and Bishop Irelands meeting with
church dignitaries during their trip to Rome (Feb.-Mar.
1887). Also, a couple of letters from Lattin Thunder to
Blackney, two income tax forms, and some letters from
Blackney to Sweetman, sent from America (Feb.-Mar.1884),
regarding his inability to find work whilst in St. Paul,
Minnesota; 25 items

MS
47,599 /12

c.1886-95

Literature regarding some English
colonisation schemes. Includes a report on a scheme to
settle East-London artisans in Assiniboia, Canada
(undated [late 1886]) and a House of Commons
sub-committee report on state-directed colonisation (29
Jul. 1887). Also, two letters of the Home Colonisation
Society [1892] and a report of its honorary director with
a statement of accounts from 1895. Also included, three
government notifications regarding stamp-duties (1887-89)
and a miscellaneous letter of Robert Taaffe (Feb.1890)
regarding his resettlement in Mexico; 9 items

MS
47,599 /13

1888

Letters
from Sweetman to Charles Blackney (IACC secretary),
subjects include company accounts and reducing the number
of company directors (Jul). Also, some letters of Lattin
Thunder and Hugh OConnor (a company director)
regarding an attempt to hold an annual general meeting.
Also, a communication regarding income tax due (28 Nov.);
19 items

MS
47,599 /14

1889-1891

Letters from Sweetman to Charles
Blackney (IACC secretary) about the payment of income tax
and management of company books. Also, a communication
regarding income tax due (24 Oct. 1889). Also, a pocket
diary (mostly blank) from 1889 and three miscellaneous
American business cards; 9 items

MS
47,599 /15

1892

A copy of a Sweetman letter to
Rev. Dr. Fitzpatrick (Mount Melleray Abbey), providing a
history of his previous efforts, made in vain, to get a
religious order to settle at Currie and offering 800
acres to his [Cistercian] order. Also, a grateful but
negative reply from B.F. [B. Fitzpatrick], Abbot;
2 items

MS
47,599 /16

1909-10

Letters and documents regarding
the winding up of the I.A.C.C. (17 Dec. 1909). Includes a
copy of a letter to Walter Sweetman (Currie, Minn.)
regarding the meeting of a debt (21 Jun. 1909), and some
letters to and from Charles Blackney regarding the
settlement of company affairs (Dec.1909-Mar. 1910); 24
items

VIII.vi.
Financial Papers MS 47,600 /1

1880-1882

Miscellaneous financial records of
the IACC, includes a printed balance sheet and
profit-and-loss account (31 Dec. 1881) and an annual
report and statement made by Sweetman at a general
meeting on 3 Apr. 1882. Also, some records of land sales;
11 items

Account book of IACC for the year
1881. Details accounts with various different companies
and individuals, with an index at the front; c.200pp

MS
42,087

1881

Waste
or Day Account book of John Sweetman while in America [on
ICCA business] from February to April 1881; c.200pp

[There is some damage to the spine]

MS
42,088

1881-1882

Book of printed share certificates
for the IACC. Only the first 20 sheets have been used to
issue shares, the remaining counterfoils give details of
number of shares and who they were issued to; c.200pp

[There is some damage to the spine]

MS
47,600 /3

1881-1882

Copies of IACC share certificates
issued to Sweetman and several other prominent
shareholders; 19 items

Receipts for cost incurred by John
Sweetman as director of the IACC, including receipts for
rent of offices, office equipment and some for cost of
relating to emigration, Feb. 1881-Jul. 1884; 53 items

MS
47,600 /6

1881-85

Miscellaneous receipts for
financial transactions of John Sweetman in Minnesota
[relating to IACC business]. Includes two used cheque
books, receipts of payments by cheque and a note from the
Stock Exchange Year Book, requesting a balance
sheet of the company for 1882; 17 items

MS
42,089

1881-1900

Guard book containing form of
application for shares in the IACC, Bankers Receipts,
financial correspondence, cheques, and witness statements
of transfer of shares, mainly to John Sweetman. Index at
front to those names in documents; c.200pp